Parents urge District 128 to revise locker‑room policy, cite safety and Title IX concerns
Loading...
Summary
Two public commenters at Nov. 3 meetings pressed the board to change District 128’s policy allowing students to use facilities based on self‑identification, alleging incidents at Libertyville High School and urging compliance with Title IX; district officials did not offer immediate policy changes at the committee meeting.
Two residents used public‑comment time Nov. 3 to urge Community High School District 128 officials to revisit the district’s gender‑identity access policy for private student spaces.
At the Program & Personnel meeting, Marnie Navarro said the district allowed “two biological men, including an 18‑year‑old man, to enter the Libertyville High School girls locker room with no advanced warning,” and characterized the district’s policy as “completely arbitrary and depends solely on an individual's self identification.” Navarro said the policy lacks requirements for a medical or psychological diagnosis, legal name change or parental notification and called the policy “illegal and unsafe,” invoking “Title IX” while urging the board to protect students.
Later, at the Facilities & Finance meeting, Arnie Navarro (same household surname) criticized the district’s priorities and said parents had questions about curricular content and outside visitors, asserting the district had invited representatives from the LGBTQ Center of Lake County to campus events while canceling a planned law career panel.
District staff did not announce immediate changes to written policy during committee discussions. Board members and administrators did not adopt or propose new written language on the record at the Nov. 3 committees; the comments were recorded as public testimony for the board to consider.
The commenters asked the board to clarify objective criteria for access to single‑sex spaces and to confirm whether current procedures comply with federal guidance. The district’s administrator presenting the student handbook update said the handbook was updated earlier this fall to align with current practice, board policy and school code, and staff will continue to update the handbook as laws and procedures evolve.
